The Bellevue Planning Commission invites public testimony on Wednesday, Nov. 14, when it will consider a package of land use code amendments proposed to address the impacts of neighborhood infill and redevelopment.

Scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Council Conference Room of City Hall, the hearing will give residents another chance to comment on amendments that would:

Require new single-family homes to provide at least 50 percent greenscape within front yard setbacks (a setback is normally the first 20 feet next to the right of way);

Require retention of 30 percent of significant trees when single-family homes are redeveloped or expanded by more than 20 percent;

Change the way the city measures building height (from finished to existing grade) to discourage unnecessary lot build-up;

Eliminate the height exemption for rooftop mechanical equipment in single family residential zones;

Prohibit portable carports and storage structures in locations visible from public streets and rights of way;

Authorize the city to require construction notification signs in single-family zones.

The proposed code amendments were developed in response to concerns raised by residents and neighborhood associations about certain aspects of neighborhood redevelopment, including: loss of trees and greenscape; loss of privacy and sunlight due to out-of-scale development; and impacts of construction activity.

The current code amendment package represents phase one of a two-phase approach developed by the Planning Commission following several months of study and public outreach. Phase One amendments – if approved by the Planning Commission after next week’s hearing – will go to the City Council for study on Nov. 26 and action on Dec. 3. Phase Two amendments are scheduled for study and consideration in 2008.